Dream
by Eight More Seconds
Summary: When Sakura sleeps very late at night and heads off to training in a very fatigued state, while waiting for her ever so unpunctual sensei she dozes off... [SasuxSaku]


After a long time of hibernation, I have finally woken up – and done two things: first, I won't be touching long stories/novels/anything of the sort for a very long time. If you have noticed, I've deleted one of my long stories. Secondly, I'll be doing short stories, as it requires less of my attention span. And I can finish it off properly.

My first Naruto fanfiction, but not my first publication, so be as harsh as you want with me in the review section.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other licensed products FROM or by Naruto and its creator. I wish I did. That way, I can have Orochimaru sing that really funny song from the directors. You know, the one which goes: "Keep it simple, keep it pretty, keep it GAY!" Yeah, that would suit him the best. Not sure about the lyrics though - I watched that musical a few years ago, and my memory is very bad.

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_**Dream**_

"Kakashi-sensei is late. _Again_," muttered Naruto, putting extreme emphasis on the word "again". Then, it wasn't surprising – those who knew the Jonin well knew that he'd be late for an hour or so. The very least.

"Not surprised," commented Sai offhandedly. As Naruto and Sai discussed about Kakashi and his habits, Sakura sat slumped underneath an oak tree in the shade. She had stayed up late last night doing research, and she was exhausted. For once, she did not complain about Kakashi being late – to her, this was a welcome time for a comfortable nap. It was irresistible – the sun filtering down, the breeze gentle… and eventually, Sakura dozed off to sleep.

When she finally woke up again, she noticed it was already night time, and there was not a person in sight. A quick search confirmed that neither Naruto or Sai were present at the site.

"What? Naruto and Sai left me here? I am _so_ going to kill them," she muttered, looking around apprehensively. _Now where could they be?_ She asked herself. She began to head out of the training grounds and down the main path, but strangely enough, even though the brightly lit streets were teeming with people, neither Naruto, Sai, or Kakashi were to be found. Not even in Naruto's favourite hangout – alias the Ichikaru Ramen Stand. _I will kill them tomorrow,_ she vowed silently, and turned down the path which lead to her home.

Sakura lived alone now, having successfully purchased a small apartment, thanks to her parents help. It wasn't all that lonely – Naruto, Sai and Kakashi often came up for dinner, and her parents stopped by every now and then. Sakura didn't mind living alone, and in quiet moments, she'd make her way to her windowsill where a single photo stood.

Sakura always had kept Team 7's photo close to her heart – it showed Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke together in the picture frame. Sakura often smiled whenever she saw it – how different was she now than she was then! Yet no matter how long time passed her by, there was always a hole, a longing that could never be satisfied.

Even though she had tried to suppress it (and she had become very good at it too), she missed Sasuke terribly, the old love for him still lurking deep inside her heart. When he left, he managed to dig a hole that neither time nor emotions could never properly fill up. Whatever she did, somehow, at one point when it was very nearly patched together, something would happen and that hole would be there again.

"Are you still reminiscing about the old times?" A voice floated from behind her, and surprised Sakura greatly. _Who's that person? How did he get it?_ The voice was very familiar, but Sakura didn't want to fool herself into believing what her heart wanted to believe.

"Stop that, it's not making things any better," she muttered, not turning around.

"Do you really have that little faith?" the voice asked, somewhat snidely.

"Okay, look, I don't care how well you can imitate his voice, but - " As Sakura turned to reprimand the trickster in her mind (preferably Naruto, so she could pummel him for leaving her alone), she probably very nearly died of a heart attack.

Shadowed in the doorway was a distinctive silhouette that Sakura could never ever forget, and the dim light cast shadows on his face, but sufficiently revealing his features.

"Sasuke…?" A smile formed at the corners of his lips.

"I missed you." For a moment, it took Sakura a while for that to sink in, but as the truth finally dawned, she flew towards Sasuke, feeling as if the hole in her heart was to be finally filled up again…

"Hey, Sakura, wake up!" Naruto's voice suddenly interrupted the moment, and Sakura started, realizing that she was _still_ at the training grounds and that it was sunny, and suddenly, she was very aware that Naruto, Sai and Kakashi were all hovering around her, and an aura of worry radiated off each of them.

"Are you too tired, Sakura?" asked Sai.

"Er… just dozed off, never mind," Sakura hastily answered, picking herself up and dusting off anything that might have stuck to her while she was asleep.

"Good, because today, we've got some missions to do - "

"And later, we'll be eating at the Ichikaru Ramen Shop!"

"Shut up Naruto!" snapped Sakura, but she was laughing all the same. As the team went off to their mission, Sakura couldn't help but recall the dream and smile a secret smile.

_Perhaps it won't be a dream in the end. Perhaps the dream will become reality. Perhaps…_

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Serious OOC existing here. I haven't finished reading all my Naruto comics yet, so please bear with me. I hope you liked it. 

Review are very welcome – so are flames, but I won't really reply to them as I'll be too busy trying to find away to bring them to life so I can have smores for dessert.


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